Health Indicator Report of Utah Population Characteristics: Poverty, All Persons

Why Is This Important?

Poverty takes into account both income and family size, and has both immediate and long-lasting effects on health. Income provides an assessment of the financial resources available to individual persons or families for basic necessities (e.g., food, clothing, and health care) to maintain or improve their well-being. Persons living in poverty are worse off than persons in more affluent households for many of the indicators tracked by the Utah Department of Health.

Map

Persons Living in Poverty by Local Health District, Utah, 2017

Chart

Data Table

Persons Living in Poverty by Local Health District, Utah, 2017

Data Notes

Notes

Data for this graph are based on the 2017 Model-based Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) for School Districts, Counties, and States.
The poverty threshold for a family of four including two children was $24,858 in 2017. ([https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html])

Data Source

U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates, Model-based Estimates for States, Counties, & School Districts

Data Interpretation Issues

Poverty status is determined by comparing annual income to a set of dollar values called thresholds that vary by family size, number of children, and age of householder. If a family's before tax money income is less than the dollar value of their threshold, then that family and every individual in it are considered to be in poverty. For people not living in families, poverty status is determined by comparing the individual's income to his or her threshold.
The poverty threshold for a family of four including two children was $24,858 in 2017. Poverty thresholds are updated annually to allow for changes in the cost of living using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). They do not vary geographically.

Other Views

Health Indicator Definition

Definition

The percentage of persons living in households whose income is at or below the federal poverty threshold.

Numerator

Estimated number of persons living in households whose income is at or below the federal poverty threshold as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Denominator

Estimated number of persons in the population.

Health Objectives and Targets

Healthy People Objective SDOH-3.1:

Proportion of persons living in povertyU.S. Target: Not applicable; this measure is being tracked for informational purposes.

Other Objectives

CSTE Chronic Disease Indicator - Poverty

Current Outlook

How Are We Doing?

According to the American Community Survey (ACS), approximately 9.7% of Utah residents, or 296,557 Utahns, were living in poverty in 2017. This includes 97,832 children aged 17 and under.

Health Improvement

What Is Being Done?

Health care "safety net" programs, such as Medicaid, CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Plan), and the Primary Care Network (PCN) provide some relief to those who are eligible. Utah's community health centers also fill a critical niche in providing high-quality health care services to Utahns of any income level.
Programs such as Head Start and those that provide assistance linking people with jobs aim to reduce poverty by increasing social functioning and self-sufficiency. Other programs, such as minimum wage requirements, food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and government subsidized health insurance and child care, provide assistance to families needing additional support.

Utah DOH

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